Combination paint box and easel



May 12, 1953 n. T, wYKOFF COMBINATION PAINT Box .um EAsEL Filed Nov..l 2. 1951 HUI" INVENTOR ,2m-man1'. WYKorF ATTORNEYS Patented May 12, 1953 en srl-Ares PAT ENT y 2,633,397" GGMBINABIONBAINT BOXiAN-D EASEB Richard. T.. Wyko', Clearwater, F1a.

AplieatinNvember 2, 19511, S51'iw1`=l\`lcr. 2545475 (Cl. 3Ghz- 231).l

Tliisirrvention. relates. to". an i. artistsf paint' box so* formedl as toiloe oonvertibleinto aznteasell It .isfhigh'ly desirable that' an artistsspainttbox loefeapable-zofconversion into/ian'seasel; soz as toi reducefthe; number off articles., tb be carried. byv the artist to a location atiWhielilie intendsfvto makaipaintinglor otherfdrawing.. 1t' is further desirablesthatl. the. artistis'; paint inolude,-, in a: fuzunpwc-tV readily portable." assembly. all the Figme: 5= isla-, titanes/'exise:v sectional view onk an'y enlarged scale, taken on line 5-5 of Figurei: and' Figure 6. isf a. transversew sectional' View,` taken 5' err an: enlarged seale;.said view being on,z line:

equipmenttwhionztlfie artistineeds; Still further; 10

itisdesirableftnat tlieflcaoxdo'efwnvertible.notonlyy twain easel, but alsodoendaptedfor suppertitinere` ofcupmrgaiplurazlityofalegsso as tofprovideadow tablefrwhiclr Willieievatesthefeasel:,portonl 'Ilre mainobject: of theV present: invention l is.v to prcnride.I an.` artistsrpaint :boze inf which these de-` sirablesfeaturesswil lbesinoorporated.:

Another importantzobject istoprovidea-paintf box of the character statedwhicli will net--bev inereasedrin overall sizeabovethe sizefof amont ventional paint.- box not having. the desirable features-.referred to:

Another important object istofprovide/ a. paint. box; asv deseribedl Wfhieh despite.. the.. desirable features embodiedtherein; can be. manufaoturedatilittle'for no increase; inicost above.. thatfrer quired in fthe-niamifaeture.v of.v conventional paint boxese In oarryinggout thev invention, Iiprovide =a...rela tively flat(A paint'. box. compartmented to.. form divided spacesefor lioldingv various articles..re. qniredlbyv the artist.'l The-paint box. is-adapted to contain a:- plinalityl of. legs,-,whieh. caribe res moved from the paint box.andiGambe.detach*` ably secured to various of .theside walls-ofthe paint boxthus to.- form.v the paint-box into a low table.. The ua .ofth paint boxisssfformee. asltofbe raised in` a mannerv .to .providean easel,` said lidin its lowered .position being arlfipted to securely covert the. artieleseontained. within the., box.V

Other objectsvwillappear fromfthe following description, thei claims.. appended: thereto, and'. fromthe. annexed l. drawing, in. which like reference characters. designate lileparts throughout. the.severa1.-.viws, and '.Wherein:

Figure. 1'- is Iavperspective View ofthe paintb'ox' in .aclosed positiom.

Figure 2- is a-perspective View illustrating the paintb'o'x asitl appears'when the lid'is raised'to. form an easel, .and the .lgsare applied to provide.. aelow table;

Figurev 3E`isl a; topplan View offtlieopenedpaint' box;y

Figure 4 isatransverseseetionallview taken substantially on line 4lfof Figure 3";

--S v ofi li'igure.` 2.

At? the outset, ithmay. be. notede that. the entiredevicef can beformed of. any.i suitable material, andi at the; presenttime 1:. prefer thatv plywoodbe used-.for vthe exterior.` Walls-lof' the box.' How-- ever, .except las nnecessarily required.' bythe-elaims; Indo not proposezto flimit myself; to :any particular.7 material, andit' is entirely possible that'fthefbom canrbeformed,y for a-:eszampleoil metal-.Orthelike. In any event, the box includes a rectangular; bottom wall I D; *to* thebackledge *oi-*Which .is-glued or irtherwise-lim-idly` attached :an npstanding rear Wall` mi. The'.A rear wall; I2 iswafr lowv height, so` that. the pia-int; box will beseft relativelyf lat vconfiguration Wheni closed; as readily` .seen from: Figure l.

Secured to the oppositeside edges of; the loot-- tom. wall I9, and. upstanding; from: .said bottom wall, are@ side walls, I8; and a.. trent. Wall.` IS. is

secured -to the frontedge4 of .the bottom vwall,..ancl

tothe v.front ends A-of-.the.r/espetive.side walls. v

Lprefer that .the several component parts re.- ferredto above be. xedly joined by glue. orits. equivalent; but it'. will,l beunderstood that' any suitable connecting means can be employed to j oin the.. several i parts. together.

The, bottom wall. HL, rear Wall- I2` sidey walls I4., rendirent wall IG. cooperate to deinev a generally rectangulars shallow, .receptacle .that` constitutes-theniain body of tl'ie device.

.Itis preferred .tnatthe paint boxbensubdivided into ra,iplurality,fof,eempartments, to holdivarious articlesreqniredby. tlie artist.. Totliisend; par.- titions I8 can be secured'to the bottomlwalLextendinggupwardly fromv said. bottom wal1 the partitions 18.- being:4 spaeed. inwardly` from. andf being; in: paral1elism= with the.` respective side Weile-114i The front: ends "of: the: partitions: lI 8A f terminate` shox-tief .'theffront wall i6;- andrextending'between tneffrontiendsme the parti-tions:isaf/longitudinals partition Ziltiiattzisparallel to the front-wall r longitudinal dividerfisparallelrto r'the'rlorrw gitudinalpartition211, and ist disposed'. between:

tudinasl divider' i terminates= at the tramsverse partitions |8l `as may"w be: readily' seenV from` Figure 3i' Eitending between" theYV longitudinalffx'iivi'd'erY 22? and* the rearfwall I Ware/transversedividrss 221i4 In this connection, the longitudinal and transverse dividers 22, 24 cooperate with the longitudinal and transverse partitions to form a plurality of compartments, wherein paints or other artists materials may be stored. The transverse dividers 24, in this connection, are lower in height than the rear wall I2 and the transverse partitions I8, and are also lower than the longitudinal divider 22, so as to receive Aan artists palette 26 having the usuall iinger-receiving opening 28.

For the purpose of holding a plurality of artists brushes, I provide spaced brush holders 3U disposed in the area between one of the transverse partitions I8 and the side wall I4 contiguous thereto'. The brush holders 30 may each be formed of some flexible material, such as leather or a leather substitute. In any event, the holders are glued or otherwise attached along one edge to the bottom wall IIl (Figure and are provided with upwardly extended free portions 32 having slits 34 through which brushes 36 can be positioned.

I provide in the paint box a plurality of legs 38, three legs being illustrated in the present instance. 'Ihe legs 38 are each formed at one end with a cutaway portion or angular notch 4l, adapted to receive the side and front walls of the paint box, when the paint box is to beelevated to provide a low table or support. In this connection, the legs 38 normally are positioned as shown in Figure 3, being stored compactly within the paint box when the paint box is being carried from place to place. Covering the legs 38 when they are stored in the paint box is a mixing board 4I.

I believe it will be apparent that any suitable means can be employed to hold the legs 38 .against movement while they are stored in the paint box, and I believe it is suiliciently obvious as not to require special illustration that suitable braces or clamps can be mounted within the paint box to hold the legs against movement.

In any event, when the legs .are to be used, they are positioned as illustrated in Figure 2. From this gure, it is seen that two of the legs are disposed adjacent the back ends of the respective side walls I4. lThe other leg is disposed medially between opposite sides of the paint box, at a location offset slightly to one side of the mid-length point of the box.

At the locations where the legs are to be secured to the paint box, the paint box is formed with smooth walled openings 42. These register with openings 44 formed in the upper ends of the legs 38, and opening into the notches 40. After registration of the openings 42, 44, bolts 46 are extended therethrough and wing nuts 48, disposed interiorly of the paint box, are used to secure the legs to the box.

Toy each of the back corners of the paint box, I attach hinges` 50, secured to strips 52, that extend transversely of the box, said strips extending from the back edge o-f the box to a location short of the front wall, as may be readily noted from Figure 1. The respective strips 52 are so hinged to the paint box as to conceal the hinge pins when the box is in closed position, sov as to eliminate any undesirable projections upon the paint box when the paint box is being carried from place to place.

To the iront end of the strips 52, I attach hinges 54, which are attached to the lid. body 56. rIhe lid body 56 covers substantially the entire area of the paint box when in closed position, but as will be seen from Figures 1 and 2, is formed from one location to another.

at opposite sides thereof with cutaway portions 58 complementary to and receiving the strips 52 when the box is closed.

When the box is closed, disks 60 that are attached adjacent their margins to the respective slits 52 by means of screws 62 or their equivalents, are swingable upon the screws tol positions in which they partially overlie the lid body 56, thus to prevent accidental opening of the lid.

Secured to the bottom wall I0, at the front of the paint box, is a handle 64 which may be formed of any suitable material, such as plastic webbing or the like. A handle 66 is secured to the front portion of the lid body 56, and overlies the handle 64, so as to afford a convenient grip for a user when the paint box is being transported A latch 68 of any desired ornamental conguration is applied to the lid and to the front wall, for the purpose of preventing the lid from opening accidentally.

When the paint box is closed, the lid body 56 and the strips 52 will be coplanar. This may be readily seen from Figure 1. When, however, the lid body is to be used as an easel, it is merely necessary that the latch 68 be disengaged, and the handle 66 elevated.

As a result, the strips 52 will be swung upwardly upon their hinges 50, and the lid body 56 may then be pivoted about the axes of the hinges 54, to a position in which it is related acutely to the strips 52 (see Figure 2). As a result, an easel is formed, while access is at the same time conveniently had to the interior of ythe paint box.

Thus, a highly compact paint box assembly is provided, which is ordinarily of relatively small, flat dimensions, as may be seen from Figure l. When, however, the paint box is to be used, it is merely necessary that the lid be raised to provide an easel if desired, while the legs 38 are quickly and readily attached to the box to provide an elevated support for the easel.

It is believed clear that the invention is not necessarily conned to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be sui-ted. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specic construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor changes in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. An artists paint box comprising a receptacle; strips hinged a-t one end to one edge of the receptacle for swinging movement toward and away from the receptacle to lowered and raised positions respectively; a lid body hinged to the other ends of the strips so as to be swingable into coplanar and angular relationships thereto, said lid body swinging into an angular relationship in the raised position of the strips to cooperate therewith in forming an easel, and swinging into said coplanar relationship in the lowered strip position to form, with the strips, a lid for the receptacle; a latch on the lid body engageable with the receptacle along that edge thereof opposite said one edge in the lowered, lid-forming position of the strips and lid body; and stop elements mounted on the vstrips and arranged to shift into posi-tion over the lid body in said lid-forming position thereof, to cooperate with the latch in holding the lid body and strips against relative swinging movement while in their lowered, lid-forming positions.

2. An artists paint box comprising a receptacle; strips hinged at one end to one edge of the receptacle for swinging movement toward and away from the receptacle to lowered and raised positions respectively; a lid body hinged to the other ends of the strips so as to be swingable into coplanar and angular relationships thereto, said lid body swinging into an angular relationship in the raised position of the strips to cooperate therewith in forming an easel, and swinging into said coplanar relationship in the lowered strip position to form, with the strips, a lid for the receptacle; a latch on the lid body engageable with the receptacle along Ithat edge thereof opposite said one edge in the lowered, lid-forming position of the strips and lid body; and lstop elements mounted on the strips and arranged to shift into position over the lid body 6 in the lid-forming position thereof, to cooperate with the latch in holding the lid body and strips against relative swinging movement while in their lowered, lid-forming positions, said stop elements comprising rigidly formed members pivotally connected to the respective strips and having portions shiftable into and out of overlying relation to the lid body on pivotal movement of said members.

RICHARD T. WYKOFF.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,728,933 Hawkins Sept. 24, 1929 1,962,988 Fulton June 12, 1934 2,374,409 Brennan Apr. 24, 1945 2,456,415 Hillenbrand Dec. 14, 1948 Havens Jan. 29, 1952 

